Earthquake Relief
Nepal Earthquake Relief Efforts
First of all, THANK YOU with a full heart for all the support we've received so far.
Disaster strikes and lives change. People loose their homes, families get separated, death toll rises. The disaster victims continue to suffer. A major 7.9 magnitude earthquake has struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, causing massive damage. More than 8000 people were confirmed dead and thousands were left homeless.
With generous gift to support our efforts in the wake of this disaster, Hamro Village launched a rapid response to ensure basic homes to those in need. Everyday more and more lives were being saved as people were donating and sharing our campaign efforts. Thank you for keeping Nepali people in your hearts and minds.
Here is my story of a village named Chapakharka in Nepal.
Chapakharka is a village that sits on the slopes of hills that surrounds Kathmandu valley overlooking some of the world's tallest peaks. Over 60 families live there, most of them lost their homes, roads, and community in the recent earthquake.
I visited this village with my wife and two daughters in January 2015 and was swept away by its beauty, grounded in the serenity of its lush green pine forest and the warm hospitality of the village people. Ram Bahadur Tamang sits on hard-packed mud floor at the family kitchen sipping rice beer. His wife Thuli Maya Tamang, who sits across from him at the mud stove, prepares a meal of Dal Bhat – lentils soup, and rice as her husband offers me vodka-like home-brewed rakshi, while I lie on straw mats stretching my legs after the long uphill hike. Outside my wife busy taking pictures of the Himalayas and my two daughters were busy playing with baby goats and Ram Bahadur’s children. The 86 old grandmother who sits on the porch all day watching the sunrise and sunset on the Himalayas, offers some roasted corns to the children for snacks. During meal we felt like a big family sitting and eating together cracking jokes.
This is how simple life was in Chapakharka village three months ago. People are simple, happy with what they have and yet so much to share. With their simple way of life, they had enough to make us feel home and loved. It all changed, this village was among one of many destroyed by the earthquake. Ram Bahadur’s house was completely destroyed, and his family was living in a tent.
There were hundreds of similar stories all over Nepal and mostly in the rural parts. I started this campaign to help Ram Bahadur’s family but with constant updates of similar stories of many other families made me realize that I needed to help as many families as possible to rebuild their homes and bring them together.
Asutosh Upadhyay